Sermons are fundamentally a spiritual exercise, more art than science, more gift than craft. When centered on faith in the Son of God, who gave Himself for us, they are nothing less than an encounter with the living God.

Introduction¹

I first wrote these maxims on the social media platform Formerly Known as Twitter as they came to me, in no particular order. I was in a great deal of pain for a number of weeks with a chronic illness and in no condition to write long and sustained arguments, nor even to sit quietly and read. In my weakness, I spent my time churning these out as both a distraction from pain and in the hope of still being some use. To my surprise, some of my readers suggested that I try to publish them, and so for better or worse, here they are, fifty at a time.

My advice is to take them as they come with no special expectation, in the same manner one might read Pascal’s Pensées. Some pensées are timeless and profound, while others are merely local and even annoyingly idiosyncratic. For the most part I have left these maxims unedited and informal, including some rather loose grammar.

My thoughts are based on more than thirty years of preaching experience in a variety of churches, with the bulk delivered as the pastor of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Blacksburg, Virginia for the past twenty years. With a few exceptions, I did not try to quote Scripture in these maxims, nor are my thoughts meant to take the place of a preaching textbook. When I have explicitly borrowed an idea, I tried to give attribution. But I am likewise sure that I have absorbed many ideas without remembering where I picked them up.

The maxims rotate between the heart of Christ-centered preaching and the whimsical. I do not expect anyone to agree with all them. That is precisely the point. They are meant to provoke thought. If one reads through all of these and three or four stick, I count that as a success, much as with any book. We might remember chapter titles and topics, but more likely than not, it will be just one or two quotes that stick with us. That is how wisdom is accumulated.

If there is a central thesis to these maxims, it is that sermons are fundamentally a spiritual exercise, more art than science, more gift than craft. When centered on faith in the Son of God, who gave Himself for us, they are nothing less than an encounter with the living God.

If one asks why I stopped at 850 maxims, that is simply when they ran out.

(1)

Preaching is dangerous. You are there to try to speak for God Himself. You dare not rely on your own wisdom. You must enter the pulpit with fear and trembling.

(2)

Sermons are not Ted Talks. Don’t rehearse every sentence perfectly, and don’t you dare plan your arm motions ahead of time. They should flow naturally out of the words, as they come.

(3)

Sermons are to a particular people in a particular place at a particular time. That’s why Radio Preachers are some of the worst models to listen to. They are excellent speakers, giving a generic message fit for all places. Truth is truth, but sermons are not lectures.

(4)

Look your people in the eye. You are there to speak to them. But don’t plan it. Don’t stare any particular person down. That’s creepy. But do look at them when you mean to particularly encourage them in grief. You are their pastor.

(5)

There are times when it’s just you and God up there. You are preaching to yourself, and you need to look up to the heavens, raging against the sin, misery and injustice of this world, pleading for mercy. Preach faith to yourself above all else.

(6)

Your job is not to fix people’s lives but to bring them to Christ, believer and unbeliever unlike. Preach about God’s love for them in Jesus, and let God sort it out.

(7)

Your model here is Pastor Kruppenbach from Run Rabbit Run, not Rev. Eccles with his earnest intentions. Don’t fiddle around with “seven practical steps of how to survive your children’s toddler years.” Souls are at stake at here.

(8)

This does not mean humor is out of place. Find the cracks and crevices of God’s love in the mundane places of life. This helps people keep going, that there is a place of Joy on the way if they can hang on.

(9)

Preaching should be tactile. Your hand motions should reflect that which you are thinking of. How do you motion “grace?” You can’t. But you can draw a pear being plucked from a tree – and then the plucker forgiven.

(10)

If your preaching is tactile, you will have no need for Powerpoints. Faith comes by hearing. Sermons are not lectures, nor information downloads. They are an experience with the living God. Preach, don’t chart.

(11)

A particular danger I’ve fallen into is to talk about the church too much. That’s easy to do, because it’s what we know – and also because it’s the subject of most of the Epistles. But folks need to know how to follow Christ each day. Not everything is about the church.

(12)

Try to learn the delicate art of imitating those you’ve sat under while still learning to be yourself. Under no circumstances, appropriate preaching styles that are not from your own culture. Don’t affect a fake Scottish accent.

(13)

When I started preaching at a prison, the one piece of advice I got from a seasoned minister was “be yourself. They can spot a fake from a mile away.”

(14)

I contend that prison preaching was where I learned to truly preach. Those men needed to hear about Jesus. They knew they were sinners in need of grace. They did not need more Law. Then I thought, if them, why not my own congregation? We are all in the same boat. Preach Christ.

(15)

If you are Reformed in theology, keep in mind that many of us major in “ideas.” I majored in intellectual history so am particularly prone to this. But the Gospel came in a Person, not a thesis. Sola Gracia is true, but by itself, it does not save. Let them see Jesus.

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